A Whole Approach to Health
Midwives are the traditional doyennes of birth—so many people don't realize that they offer gynecological services too. "We do annual exams, infection checks, birth control, IUD insertions, you name it," says Pickett of the women's care her group provides at all stages of life. Before, when she worked in a corporate-run practice, her time with patients was limited. "It wasn't patient-driven; it was numbers-driven," she says. "The providers were judged by their productivity." Now, instead of spending seven minutes with a patient, she'll take an hour with them.
Rannestad, too, gives her time liberally. "I joke that people wait eight minutes in the waiting room and then spend an hour with me, instead of waiting an hour and spending eight minutes with me." Her group, she notes, has exciting plans: They're working to expand their new Kingston office into what would become the Hudson Valley's only freestanding, midwife-run birth center. (Currently, New York has just two freestanding birth centers—one in Brooklyn and one in Buffalo, over eight hours away from each other.) Stay tuned as plans develop, hopefully unfolding in the next two to four years. In the meantime, Hudson Valley Midwifery offers yoga and meditation classes, mommy-baby groups, and a small boutique.
For parents like Rebecca, it's the care and attention of the midwife model that makes all the difference during some of life's biggest moments. "The birth was a lot for me," she says. "I think if I didn't have them, I'd be at a higher risk for postpartum [depression] for sure. The emotional support, the support with breastfeeding—just having them there, it all helped. It was comforting to know that they were just a text away. And still are."
RESOURCES
Capital Region Midwifery Capitalregionmidwifery.com
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley Hahv.org
Hudson Valley Midwifery Hudsonvalleymidwifery.com
